Shelton-Mason County Journal - Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886

Growing up in a small village in central Mexico, Jose de Jesus Melendez picked corn, beans and sweet potatoes to help support his subsistence-farming family. He attended a one-room schoolhouse, at least when a teacher was available.

When Melendez was in the fourth grade, his father told him, "You're an educated man now" and pulled him out of school to pick sugar cane fulltime. His formal schooling days in Mexico were over.

A remarkable educational journey that began in his 20s has led Melendez to a career as a teacher, principal, program director and superintendent in California, Colorado,...